The B-58 Hustler was the first super-sonic jet bomber to enter service. It used a delta wing which was adequate for its high speed high altitude role, but it came with a price. It required also a high speed and high attack angle to land, and had a tricky stall. More than that, despite its mach 2 capability, it required full attention of the pilot at all time. There was no electronic stability control which made its flights demanding for the pilots. When the high altitude SAM missiles came into the game, it was made an attempt to shift it to high speed low level flight, but it was not good at it. For that, it remained in service for only a decade, but even now, it still remains as one of the fastest bombers of history.
This is a very nice model, even if there are many people complaining about its fit... Overall, its not the worst case I've ever seen...
The cockpit windows are the clearest and most transparent I've ever seen. Trully, the best part of the kit.
At least the front one... the ones on the back don't let see much of the interior, but that is the airplane itself fault...
The landing gear is complex, like the real one...
But despite some thin and small struts details missing, overall, its good. Even on the landing gear well detail.
The front one may seem too fragile, but it handles well.
Even if it may seem tricky to put in place... but that is design fault, it had to retract without hitting the central fuel tank, which I had not use.
It's payload has 3 options, I've choosen the 4 bombs one.
Engine detail is not bad.
Fitting of its pods, may require some work and adjustment, but not that hard.
With some slight sanding, can be seamless.
Overall, the hardest part of this model its the metal look paint. But that is because painting with metal looks is hard. Requires a good glossy primer and good paints, and a fully cleaned airbrush.
As a final remark, I do recommend this model, its an unique cold war icon. Also a good example in fast and delta airplanes.
